Targeting Kids for Identity Theft
Children are victims of stolen social security numbers and family disputes.
From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, January 10, 2004
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A four-month-old baby receives several notices that she has been turned down for credit cards. Her mother assumes the child's social security card was stolen en route to her mailbox.
A 12-year-old receives collection notices on a credit-card account in her name. Her mother suspects the girl's social security number may have been lifted from the pediatrician's office because several accounts were opened shortly after the child's last visit.
It's a dirty little secret that a growing number of children have become targets of identity theft, says Linda Foley, director of the Identity Theft Resource Center, in San Diego. The center deals with two or three new cases a week, hearing either from parents who must erase the damage or young adults who learn that they're victims when they apply for their first credit card or student loan. (For more on identity fraud, see "They've Got Your Numbers.")
In some instances, thieves actually live under the stolen identity of a child because they want to build a new credit record or start a new life. Those cases are difficult to unwind because the perpetrator pays bills in the victim's name, making accounts look legitimate.
In other cases, the perpetrator is an estranged parent or other family member suffering from a drug or gambling addiction, or striking back in a nasty divorce or custody battle. Those cases are also difficult to resolve because victims are sometimes hesitant to turn in family members to police. And without a police report, creditors are less likely to take a victim seriously. --Kristin Davis